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Canada got the last hurrah at the Celebration of Light Saturday evening, closing the three-night event with a winning display. Canada was declared the winner of the event, with Brazil and China finishing second and third, respectively.

The Pattullo Bridge over the Fraser River opened in 1937.

Photograph by: Steve Bosch
, Vancouver Sun

The Pattullo Bridge continues to see a significant increase in heavy truck traffic, prompting New Westminster to call for reduced tolls on the Port Mann Bridge to discourage truckers from using the aging crossing as a “free alternative.”

But the Transportation Investment Corp., the provincial agency that operates the Port Mann, argues the toll bridge isn’t to blame because truck traffic is rising everywhere.

The situation underscores an ongoing divide between Metro Vancouver mayors, who are responsible for approving TransLink funding for projects such as the Pattullo Bridge, and the province, which continues to plow money into its own infrastructure projects, including the Port Mann Bridge and a new bridge to replace the Massey Tunnel.

The South Fraser Perimeter Road, another provincial responsibility, is also blamed for diverting trucks to the Pattullo.

The Pattullo has long been a sore spot for New Westminster, whose residents want to keep truck traffic out of their downtown core and say they would prefer a new $1.5-billion crossing between Surrey and Coquitlam rather than rebuilding or rehabilitating the 76-year-old bridge between their city and Surrey.

A staff report also recommends that if the Pattullo Bridge continues to experience increased truck traffic that TransLink should ban trucks on the crossing altogether.

“We thought this is what would occur, we told everyone right away,” Wright said. “It’s getting worse by the day.”

A preliminary review of traffic data along Royal Avenue, McBride Boulevard and the Pattullo Bridge found the number of heavy trucks on the Pattullo has risen 10 per cent since the new Port Mann Bridge tolls came into effect last December.

The review found average daily traffic on McBride during September, October and November 2012 — before the Port Mann tolls went into effect — was about 36,700 vehicles per day, with 450 heavy trucks. That number rose to 40,100 vehicle per day, with about 495 heavy trucks, during June, July and August this year.

Traffic on Royal Avenue, a four-lane city arterial route, rose by about 1,300 vehicles per day during the same two periods, from 26,700 vehicles to 28,000, with about 930 of them heavy trucks.

Wright argues New Westminster has been warning this could happen for the past six years, and expects it will get worse when tolls go up again in December.

A commercial truck with or without a trailer now pays $9 per crossing on the new bridge. Although there is a 50-per-cent discount for heavy trucks that use the crossing between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., a New Westminster staff report notes the toll “is still considered a financial deterrent for many truck drivers to use the new provincial crossing, especially during the off-peak periods when other ‘free alternative crossings’ such as the Pattullo Bridge and Alex Fraser Bridge are available.”

Wright’s council agreed Monday to formally ask the transportation ministry to immediately lower the tolls on the Port Mann Bridge, and ensure there is direct connection between the South Fraser Perimetre Road and the Port Mann to “alleviate the negative impacts to the Pattullo.”

Council also agreed to invite Transportation Minister Todd Stone to visit the traffic-choked downtown core. Requests to the minister for an interview were not returned to The Vancouver Sun by press time.

But TI Corp. spokesman Greg Johnson maintains traffic volumes on the Port Mann are consistent with previous years, while truck traffic has gone up. In September, he said, truck traffic was 25 per cent higher on the Port Mann than it was in December last year, while 1,700 more trucks, or an 18-per-cent increase, crossed the bridge this past July over the same period last year.

He noted the corporation had suggested traffic would fall about nine per cent, or more than 5,000 vehicles a day, on free alternate crossings over the Fraser River once the Port Mann tolls came into effect.

Johnson added the corporation is reviewing the rates and potential discounts for all customers, including trucks.

The B.C. Trucking Association has also asked TI Corp. to consider bringing the tolls for some classes of trucks in line with those used on the Golden Ears Bridge, as well as offering a monthly pass to truckers using the Port Mann, president Louise Yako said.

Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts, whose city has also been beset by gridlock as a result of the increased traffic on the Pattullo, agreed that “$10 is significantly high” for a toll.

“It certainly is a diversion,” she said. “We’re talking about the movement of goods. We’ve seen a significant amount of gridlock, as well as the fact the bridge is 76 years old and has not been built for that kind of traffic. Both of those elements have got to be addressed.

“At the end of the day the bridge has to be replaced, there’s no doubt about it.”

The latest push by New Westminster comes as TransLink found the aging bridge is in worse condition than originally thought and will likely need a new bridge deck within the next 10 years.

TransLink has recently set aside $299 million in its 10-year plan for upgrades and repairs to the bridge, with plans to spend $22 million on a new design for seismic upgrading. He noted the rest of the money won’t be spent until TransLink determines whether the bridge should be rebuilt or rehabilitated.

Watts questioned why any money was being put into upgrades on the bridge when a new bridge is needed, but Zein noted it would take at least six to eight years to build a new crossing. TransLink has spent $33 million on upgrades and maintenance since it took control of the bridge in 1999.

“We have a duty to maintain the safety and functionality of this bridge,” Zein said. “We’re putting the money aside in case we need it.”

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